Year 4 plan — Australian Curriculum: History
Implementation year: 2013
School name: Exemplar
Curriculum focus: Local/national history and use of a range of sources
Year 4 level description: First Contacts
The Year 4 curriculum introduces world history and the movement of peoples. Beginning with the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, students examine European exploration
and colonisation in Australia and throughout the world up to the early 1800s. Students examine the impact of exploration on other societies, how these societies interacted with newcomers, and
how these experiences contributed to their cultural diversity.
The content provides opportunities to develop historical understanding through key concepts including sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance.
These concepts may be investigated within a particular historical context to facilitate an understanding of the past and to provide a focus for historical inquiries.
The history content at this year level involves two strands: Historical Knowledge and Understanding and Historical Skills. These strands are interrelated and should be taught in an integrated way;
they may be integrated across learning areas and in ways that are appropriate to specific local contexts. The order and detail in which they are taught are programming decisions.
A framework for developing students’ historical knowledge, understanding and skills is provided by inquiry questions through the use and interpretation of sources. The key inquiry questions at
this year level are:
 Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
 What was life like for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?
 Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
 What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?
Achievement standard
By the end of Year 4, students explain how and why life changed in the past, and identify aspects of the past that remained the same. They describe the experiences of an individual or group
over time. They recognise the significance of events in bringing about change.
Students sequence events and people (their lifetime) in chronological order to identify key dates. They pose a range of questions about the past. They identify sources (written, physical, visual,
oral), and locate information to answer these questions. They recognise different points of view. Students develop and present texts, including narratives, using historical terms.
Identify curriculum
Phase curriculum focus
and Year level description
Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), Australian Curriculum v3.0: History for Foundation–10, www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/History/Curriculum/F-10
Teaching and learning
Unit overview
Unit 1
Unit 2
Exemplar unit: Investigating exploration and the movement of peoples
The key inquiry questions for the unit are:
 Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
 Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
This unit provides opportunities for students to develop historical understandings particularly
focused on the key concepts of sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives,
empathy and significance.
Students explore the reasons for exploration across land and sea. They investigate the
establishment of an early colony and examine the impact it had on the inhabitants.
Students will:
 sequence significant historical people and events
 use historical terms when speaking, writing and illustrating
 pose a range of questions about changes over time in the local community and the impact of
these changes
 locate relevant information from sources provided
 identify diversity in different points of view
 develop texts, particularly narratives
 use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and digital technologies.
Investigating colonisation in Australia
The key inquiry questions for the unit are:
 What was life like for Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples before the
arrival of the Europeans?
 What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres
Strait Islander peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?
This unit provides opportunities for students to develop historical understandings particularly
focused on the key concepts of sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives,
empathy and significance.
Students examine what life was like for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples
and their connectedness to the land, sea, waterways and skies in daily life prior to a European
presence.
Students will:
 sequence significant historical events
 use historical terms when speaking, writing and illustrating
 pose a range of questions about the past when investigating explorers (across the sea and
land) and ways of life in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
 identify sources that provide information about the ways of life and practices that connect
Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the land, air, sea and community
 identify sources relating to the significance of colonisation and its impact on local Aboriginal
peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples over time
 locate relevant information from provided primary sources to record key ideas about
significance, continuity and change, and perspectives
 identify different points of view
 develop multimodal texts using a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and
digital technologies to create and edit a presentation that records and explains the past.
Queensland Studies Authority October 2012
|
1
Teaching and learning
Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander perspectives
History provides opportunities for students to strengthen their appreciation and understanding of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their living cultures. Specific content
and skills within relevant sections of the curriculum can be drawn upon to encourage engagement with:
 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander frameworks of knowing and ways of learning
 Indigenous contexts in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live
 Aboriginal peoples’ and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ contributions to Australian society and cultures.
The Australian Curriculum: History values Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. For Aboriginal and Torres Islander students, it provides an opportunity to see themselves
within the curriculum and in an educational setting that respects and promotes their cultural identities. Students are taught that Australian Aboriginal societies are the longest surviving societies in
the world and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are two distinct groups. Students learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander occupation of the continent prior to colonisation
by the British, and the ensuing contact and conflict between these societies. Students develop an awareness of the resilience of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the
ways in which their expertise and experiences in contemporary science, education, the arts, sport and tourism; their inventions; and their knowledge of medicine have contributed to the
development of a culturally diverse Australian society.
General capabilities and
cross-curriculum priorities
Opportunities to engage with:
Key to general capabilities and
cross-curriculum priorities
Literacy
Numeracy
Opportunities to engage with:
ICT capability
Critical and creative thinking
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
Make judgments
and use feedback
Develop assessment
Assessment
For advice and guidelines on
assessment, see:
www.qsa.qld.edu.au
2
|
Moderation
Year 4 plan Australian Curriculum: History
Personal and social capability
Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
Ethical behaviour
Intercultural understanding
Sustainability
The following assessment will provide a targeted selection of evidence of student learning across different assessment techniques and instruments. This evidence will be collected in a folio to
make an overall on-balance judgment about student achievement and progress at appropriate points, and to inform the reporting process.
Unit 1
Unit 2
Assessment
Assessment
Collection of work (Written, spoken/signed, multimodal)
The purpose of this assessment is to make judgments about students’ responses to a series of
focused tasks within a specified context and based on the process of historical inquiry.
The focus of the collection of work is on great journeys of exploration and could include:
 written explanations
 annotated timelines
 labelled maps
 physical/visual artefacts
 annotated photographs
 journal entries
 re-enactments and roleplays.
Collection of work (Written, spoken/signed, multimodal)
The purpose of this assessment is to make judgments about students’ responses to a series of
focused tasks within a specified context and based on the process of historical inquiry.
The focus of the collection of work is the nature of contact between Aboriginal peoples and/or
Torres Strait Islander peoples and others and the effects of these interactions. The collection of
work could include:
 written explanations
 questions of, and responses to, source material
 annotated timelines
 debates or discussions (with notes)
 audiovisual interviews
 physical/visual artefacts
 annotated photographs
 historical narratives.
Research: Historical narrative (Written)
The purpose of this assessment is to make judgments about students’ abilities to research,
collect, analyse and draw conclusions about historical sources.
Students compare and contrast the life of an explorer, settler, convict or soldier of the First Fleet
before and after its arrival in Australia, using sources to locate their information. They write a
text, such as a letter, diary, annotated photo album or newspaper article explaining how life has
changed and/or stayed the same.
Research: Response (Written; Multimodal)
The purpose of this assessment is to make judgments about students’ abilities to research,
collect, analyse and draw conclusions about historical sources.
Students explore what life was like for Aboriginal peoples or Torres Strait Islander peoples
before the arrival of the Europeans.
Drawing upon a range of sources, students research an aspect Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples’ connection to Country and Place (the land, sea, waterways and skies), such
as the barter systems, use and respect for environment, foods, clothing, shelter, tools, and
roles performed by men, women and children.
Teachers develop tasks and plan units.
Teachers co-mark tasks to ensure consistency of judgments.
Teachers develop tasks and plan units.
Teachers calibrate A–E samples of student work that link to the standards before marking
tasks. They moderate to ensure consistency of judgments.
Teachers select representative folios and meet to ensure consistency of judgments before
marking tasks.
Year 4 History: review for balance and coverage of content descriptions, including emphasis on historical understandings
Historical Knowledge and Understanding
Historical Knowledge
1
2
First Contacts
Sources

The diversity and longevity of Australia’s first peoples and the
ways Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples are
connected to Country and Place (land, sea, waterways and
skies) and the implications for their daily lives (ACHHK077)
The journey(s) of AT LEAST ONE world navigator, explorer
or trader up to the late eighteenth century, including their
contacts with other societies and any impacts (ACHHK078)
Stories of the First Fleet, including reasons for the journey,
who travelled to Australia, and their experiences following
arrival (ACHHK079)
The nature of contact between Aboriginal people and/or
Torres Strait Islanders and others, for example, the
Macassans and the Europeans, and the effects of these
interactions on, for example families and the environment
(ACHHK080)
Historical Understandings1
The key concepts of historical understanding are:
Historical Skills
1
2
Historical Skills


Chronology, terms and concepts
Written or non-written materials that can be used to
investigate the past. A source becomes “evidence” if
it is of value to a particular inquiry.
1
2
Sequence historical people and events (ACHHS081)


Use historical terms (ACHHS082)


Pose a range of questions about the past (ACHHS083)


Identify sources (ACHHS216)






Develop texts, particularly narratives (ACHHS086)


Use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and
digital technologies (ACHHS087)


Historical questions and research

Continuity and change


Continuities are aspects of the past that have
remained the same over certain periods of time.
Changes are events or developments from the past
that represent modifications, alterations and
transformations.

Cause and effect
Analysis and use of sources
Locate relevant information from sources provided
(ACHHS084)


Identify different points of view (ACHHS085)
The relationship between a factor or set of factors
(cause/s) and consequence/s (effect/s). These form
sequences of events and developments over time.

Perspectives
Explanation and communication


A point of view or position from which events are
seen and understood, and influenced by age, gender,
culture, social position and beliefs and values.
Empathy
Perspectives and interpretations




An understanding of the past from the point of view of
the participant/s, including an appreciation of the
circumstances faced, and the motivations, values and
attitudes behind actions.
Significance
The importance that is assigned to particular aspects
of the past, such as events, developments,
movements and historical sites, and includes an
examination of the principles behind the selection of
what should be investigated and remembered.
Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), Australian Curriculum v3.0: History for Foundation–10, www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/History/Curriculum/F-10
1
The historical understandings are derived from the content descriptions and achievement standards, and are supported by Historical Skills. The Year level description provides information about the development of historical understandings through key concepts. The definitions of historical
understandings are based on the glossary terms published in Australian Curriculum v3.0: History for Foundation-10, www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/History/Curriculum/F-10.
Queensland Studies Authority October 2012
|
3